Crashing Hearts: A Pathway to Hell
The March Towards Battle The halls of Phantom Breaker were silent as the morning sunlight swept through the windows into the corridors. Phantom Complex, heart of their guild, their home, was deathly silent. Today was not just any other day, but a day headed towards blood and pain. The common living areas were empty as mages of the guild had gathered in the meeting hall to wish luck and victory to their comrades off to deal with Taichi's peril. Their guest, however, was running a bit behind schedule. Sanjo headed down the corridor towards the meeting room Aina had directed him to yesterday. This atmosphere was familiar to him, the silence and momentary peace before battle. He gathered that most of these people had never dealt with criminals on the same level mages were used to back home. That was just his assumption though. "What's most crucial is securing Taichi's safety first, and then taking out this Yakeno guy," Sanjo pondered to himself. The sound of his footsteps echoed throughout the empty hallway. "Taichi's imprisonment gives him leverage. A hostage is an advantage. At least we understand our opponent isn't an imbecile." The wizard saint had no worries about his own well being in this, the real worry was Taichi' neck not his or the others'. Then there was mother nature to worry about. He came to a halt before the grand, wooden doors of the meeting hall. Sanjo took a deep breath and pushed the doors open to find all eyes on him in a packed room. "Looks like everyone is up early today, " Sanjo said with a small smirk. He glanced to see where Jayapura was waiting. The old man, Konoha, and himself were the only actual muscle in this guild to deal with a situation like this. "Welcome Sanjo, we were waiting for you" Jayapura said as he nodded and went next to Aina and waited for Jayapura to make his decree. "I know many of you are here today, not just as fellow guildmates, but as family to help rescue our fellow mage Taichi, but I am here to say only I will be going to rescue him" Jayapura said as many started to yell and scream at their guildmaster, not out of anger, but grief as they all wanted to join in to help out. "SILENCE!!!!" In that moment, the entire guild seemed to shake in fear as many held their tongue, not wanting to make their guildmaster madder than he already was. Konoha and Sanjo were the only two unfazed by the roar as many of the guild mates stood there, shaking a bit in fear. "This person is not some bounty hunter looking to strike fear, everything done to this point has been calculated to take us down. I must go alone as requested in order to keep the illusion of following his plan, but I know he will have me in an impossible situation and if push comes to shove, the entire continent will be in danger. That is why I am trusting Konoha and you all to protect it while I am gone" He said looking at them all with determination in his voice and heart, Many looked at him for only moments before many started cheering and walking out to follow their master's orders and continue on their daily activities, leaving only Sanjo, Konoha, and He alone. "Now that they're gone," Sanjo said slowly, "How are we going to do this and without getting Taichi or any of us killed?" The wizard saint kept his blue eyes on the guild master, awaiting a response, better said, a decent plan. "Simple, he wants me to meet him one-on-one, so be it" Jayapura said as he grabbed a whisky and poured some to drink, but was quickly gripped by Konoha as he glared at him, "Don't make jokes about this old man, Guild Master or not, I will beat you within an inch of your life" He said with his rows of shark teeth grinding against each other as he glared at the old man. Sanjo managed to seperate them as he pushed him back, not wanting another argument to occur. "I will go alone, or so he may think, we have one advantage to this entire situation regardless of being outnumbered and outwited, you Sanjo" Jayapura said looking over to the young mage as he gave a confused look. "I know this is not the journey you had expected, but destiny has brought you to our shores, and right now, you are the only one who can help my son. I do not ask this as a favor to me or to even the guild, I ask this because I need your help" He said looking down at his drink, waiting to hear Sanjo's response. The wizard saint smirked, "It's not exactly possible for me to say no to you, old man, the situation is dire." Sanjo laid a hand on Jayapura's shoulder with a knowing look. "That being said, I didn't get to where I am being selfish. Whatever the course of action, I'll follow." "And channel that anger towards the enemy, Konoha, it'd make a formidable weapon, " Sanjo said glacing towards the angered guild ace. He was important, powerful and experienced, a fine combination to have on anyone's side. "In any case, I must sort some things out before the night strikes down, Konoha, make sure that everyone is ready, the children are safe, and our home protected when you go. If I don't make it back, I at least want the satisfaction of knowing that my family will be protected and safe" Jayapura said as the Konoha nodded and exited through the window. A few moments later, Jayapura could hear the sounds of something crashing as he sighed, "I have the feeling that Aina heard everything last night, and at the moment it's not in my place to speak with her about this, would you mind talking with her? She seems to be quite infatuated with you" He said chuckling as he went back to his seat and began to drink another glass again. Sanjo gave Jayapura a nod as the older guildmaster went on his way along with Konoha. He stepped out the room to see another one of his newest made friends brushing herself off. "Aina," Sanjo smiled, "You seemed to be having some trouble eavesdropping. The idea is to not be seen or heard." She glared at him weakly, stepping closer towards him. "Do you think you can save Taichi? You, master, and Konoha against that...man." Aina said slowly, eyeing his every expression closely. "You mean your father," Sanjo said, "And sure, I have no worry to that. The problem is there is more to this than just endangering Taichi. There has to be, Taichi is just part of this man's little scheme. But..." Aina arched an eyebrow, "But what, Sanjo?" "There's the fact that while we can surely save Taichi, there's no promise he will be unharmed," He answered. "It's the tricky part of it all, that's the deal with most hostage situations." "You sound like you've been through this before," she said, crossing her arms across her chest. The uneasiness in her tone was only thickening. A sudden silence fell over them as Aina stared Sanjo down. Her eyes were almost piercing all of sudden, he noted, hardly the same as before. "Not exactly like this, but I've been in a few tight binds with hostages some years back. That's not important though, " he said, "I need you to keep in mind that you can't follow us into this mess." "Where on earth did you get that-" "Aina, please, " Sanjo cut in, "Everyone has that desire to be a hero in them. But, this isn't the time for that sort of stupidity. I know all this is a lot to take in, but just remember one thing." "And what's that?" Aina frowned, lifting her eyes up the wizard saint. "Everything's gonna be alright." Konoha was in another part of the hallway, listening in on their conversation as he sighed and went to go get everyone ready for the big event that was about to go down. The duo hugged before she let him go, needing to go to the children to make sure they were kept safe. ---- The setting sun could be seen, shining it's twilight over the horizon as many of the Phantom Breaker's could be seen, patrolling the streets of Utopia as Konoha was seen on top of the captial building, having the best height advantage for scouting. He took a deep sigh before looking over to the path that led to the Super Volcano as he thought in his mind, You better not die old man, I've lost one sibling, I don't want another gone..... Meanwhile on the dirt road on the path of the volcano, Jayapura could be seen walking in a normal and calm pace, carrying on his shoulder, one large blade that reached up quite a bit, bouncing a bit with each step he took as he could see the volcano. At the tip top of the volcano, a small suspension of two steel pillar's and chain's could be seen dangling a bruised Taichi as those two pillar's were the only thing's keeping him from falling into the lava. "Soon young Taichi, soon thing's will be in order" Yakeno said walking towards one of the pillar's as he could hear the sounds of footsteps coming from the side. He turned to find Jayapura glaring at him, holding the sword that he had before he placed it on the ground and looked at him, "Just as we agreed Yakeno, I am alone and unarmed, now where is my son?!" He demanded as Yakeno simply chuckled while twirling one of the guns in his hand. "Of course, just as expected from the Guild Master of Phantom Breaker, and as for your son..." Yakeno turned to the chain's as Jayapura saw that Taichi was suspended from the lava pool, but as he attempted to reach out to get him, "I wouldn't move if I were you" Yakeno said as he held a small Lacirma in his right hand while he had the gun on his left. "It doesn't have to be this way Yakeno.... You have me, just let him go..." Jayapura said trying his best to control himself. "Oh Jaya, if only it were that simple, but as you know life never is" He said twirling the gun as he looked over with his burnt face, "I used to be a decent person Jaya, just wanting to have a family and raise my child, but life comes at you hard and can be extremely cruel, and this is the perfect example" He said making his gun point to Taichi as Jaya tightened his fist. "You see, we are given choice's in life, some can be cruel, some can be life saving, but all depends on the person waiting to make...the....choice.." He said hitting his forehead with the butt of his gun. "Yakeno.... Believe me, I never meant to bring harm to your family, but there is much you still don't know..." Jayapura said walking to him, but stopped when he loaded the gun. "Maybe... It doesn't matter at this point, for now it's time for You to make the choice Jayapura, for you see there is only one thing you can save. I've wired multiple tremor Lacirma's inside this entire volcano, with one channel of magic, I trigger the greatest catastrophe in Genosha history. However, with Grand Shogun, you can prevent this and save your homeland, but you have one choice to make: Save Genosha or save your son..." He said with a cold tone as Jayapura tightened his fist. "Don't do this Yakeno, you'll kill everyone involved in this....." "We are who we choose to be, now choose!" Yakeno quickly shot through both of the steel pole's chains as he then channeled energy through the small Lacirma, causing the tremor to begin as the entire volcano began shaking violently with Yakeno laughing manically as Jayapura roared as he grabbed Grand Shogun and stabbed it into the ground. However, unknown to Yakeno, a blond blur passed right through him, jumping straight into the volcano as suddenly two figures came out, one was Taichi and the other was revealed to be Sanjo as he glared back at Yakeno. "Impossible!! There is no way anyone followed you!!" Yakeno said as his energy began to rise up as it caused the volcano to rumble a bit, but was stopped by Jayapura as he was channeling Grand Shogun into the volcano. Sanjo floated above the pair, with an injured Taichi slung over his back. His eyes traced over the surrounding area, aside from their enemy and themselves, there seemed to be no magical presence in the area. Yakeno had taken up this day's plot alone, or so it seemed. He eyed the massive sword in Jayapura's hands, a weapon that could control tremors, Genosha was a strange land. He felt a slight tremble from Taichi, the young man was clearly beginning to awake. "Don't move yet," Sanjo whispered, the shifting came to a halt as the wizard saint turned his eyes to Jayapura. Konoha was nowhere in sight. Yakeno looked up at the young mage suspended in the sky above him. "A mage that can fly, what a nuisance," he said to himself. Yakeno twirled his pistols once more, "No matter, the stakes are still my favor. Regardless of the help you bring with you, beloved master of Phantom Breaker." "Yakeno, you're a danger to yourself, Genosha, and us all," Jayapura said with a grunt as his sword grip tightened. Yakeno's energy started to increase as the volcano was beginning to rumble more and more with each high increase. On his sides, two revolver's appeared as he drew them both out as he quickly shot out two bullets, both of which hit Jayapura as he groaned and kneeled down in pain, coughing up a bit of blood. "You noticed didn't you, those aren't normal bullets, they're special anti-magic ones, and trust me, I got plenty more to deal with you..." Right when he was about to shoot again, a powerful sound blast emerged, hitting Yakeno square on the back as he was sent slamming into the ground. "You're not going to harm anyone!" Taichi said glaring as he was breathing heavily, trying to stand up. "My son, be careful, he is powerful" Jayapura said as he focused his attention on keeping the volcano from erupting. Still overhead in the air, Sanjo raised a finger as he watched the situation unfold. A small, glowing orb appeared at his fingertip, "I have no promises that I won't kill this guy in the process, Taichi." Taichi caught his breath as he watched Yakeno's sickening grin grow even wider. "And it would be justified," Taichi said, looking back towards his newest comrade. "I don't know where Konoha is, but this need to be finished as quickly as possible. You don't need to hold back because neither will I." A smile crossed the wizard saint's face as he began to descend from the air. "I like the way you think, practical," Sanjo said as he landed next to Taichi. "You're not looking to hot though, do what you can--" "I am fine, no, I'm better than ever," Taichi said as he smashed a fist into his palm. "I'll take the right and you, the left. My father has to push back this maniac's sorcery, without that blade, we could have far bigger issues than just this man." There were still slight trembles from the volcano beneath them. Sanjo narrowed his eyes at Yakeno, the adversary had nothing to lose and that could prove problematic. Any sort of treachery could emerge from this man's plans. His fists tightened as a deathly silence fell over them. "It matters not, soon we're all going to die..." Yakeno said reloading before sending out two bullets, one was a sickly red while the other was blue as they both headed towards the duo. Taichi quickly launched up a Sound-wall that stopped one bullet, but could not stop the other as it multiplied itself, attempting to hit both of the men at the same time. Sanjo shot forward through the air, ripping towards Taichi's position as the bullets grazed past him within mere centimeters of his skin and clothing. This could prove to be annoying, he thought. The duplicates seemed to be a function of the bullets themselves rather than the work of some cloning spell—they had to be wary of Yakeno's arsenal of weapons. As he was clear of the torrent of projectiles, Sanjo swerved towards their enemy like a hawk. He clapped his hands together. "Fire Carnival," the wizard saint whispered as he swept his hands forward. In flashes of red and orange, a torrent of menacing fireballs raced towards Yakeno. In an instant, the blasts seemed to have hit as a swarm of fire emerged from all around the area, but suddenly the flames began to slowly be drawn into something as the flames cleared to reveal it being absorbed in what appeared to be an eye that appeared right on the gun. "Impressive, quite the power you got inside of you, but technique trumphs all" He said shooting back a blood red bullet that showed to have a trailing flame behind it as it aimed right at Sanjo. "Sound reflection!" The sudden echo of sound ways suddenly wrapped around Sanjo as the bullet hit him, but bounced into the volcano as it added to the magma's heat, causing it to spiral upward as Yakeno looked over to see Taichi, "You're not up against just him Yakeno!". Sanjo's gaze carried over to Taichi's position. The guy had a nice quickness to him, and that was something he could count on. He narrowed his eyes at Yakeno's weapons, there was no telling what other types of bullets he had in his arsenal. They had to be cautious. "Taichi, it's time to kick it up a notch," Sanjo said, not taking his eyes of the enemy, "Like I said before, don't hold back." Taichi nodded as he began to build up his Sound-Make, causing a ground underneath him to start shaking as Taichi released a powerul blast, showing itself to be in the shape of a dragon as it began to go on the attack with Yakeno sending out multiple bullets that caused them to start to absorb the magic. "NOW'S YOUR CHANCE SANJO!!". Category:Roleplay Category:Zicoihno Category:Phantombeast Category:Storyline Category:Chapters